A perception gap.

This article presents preliminary findings on research by the Public Agenda Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization. When complete, this research will provide one basis for a major public-television special on health policy being produced by WGBH-TV in Boston under a grant from Baxter International Inc. and for accompanying educational materials being produced by Public Agenda for a nationwide program of community and town meetings. The findings discussed here are based on focus groups conducted in nine cities across the country between January and June 1991. We have also reviewed existing survey data and interviewed a number of experts and decision-makers in the health-care field. While findings from focus groups should be considered preliminary until they can be confirmed through surveys, our observations here reflect the views of a cross section of Americans from around the country.